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Monday, September 6, 2010

Blackberry Buttermilk Pie Bars

How can anyone go wrong with the words Buttermilk and Blackberries in the same title?

Blackberry Buttermilk Pie Bars

I've known people who could swig buttermilk from a jar and keep on chatting. I've never been one of those kinds of people, but I have grown to think of buttermilk as a rich and tangy addition to food.

I've seen buttermilk made after the churning of butter from cream was finished - the liquid left was called buttermilk. Now, it's often the result of fermented lactic acid and the bacteria is added to the milk to create a "cultured" buttermilk for selling. Leave it to resourceful farmers to find a good use for every part of every food.

While staying at my Mom's house in North Carolina, I very often look through her giant box of collected recipes from years of her tear-and-save hobby. I was ecstatic to find a recipe for Buttermilk Pie. There was no way to tell what book or magazine it came from and was simply called "Southern Buttermilk Pie". I've made the pie several times, tweaking it along the way - mostly reducing the sugar and adding a little thickness to the filling. Now, that summer is coming to an end (dabbing my tear-filled eyes), I just needed to make one more thing from the midnight blue blackberries that are still clinging to the season the same way I am clinging.These could easily be made into one whole pie, but I wanted to add them to a party table so chose the pie-bars. They were loved and devoured. Thanks for reading - hope you'll give them a try.

1) In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and brown sugar.2) Cut in the butter, or use your fingertips, until the mixture is crumbly.3) Using a fork, mix in enough of the heavy cream until the ingredients stick together and you can form a ball of dough. Press into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.Blackberry Puree -6 oz. fresh blackberries2 Tbls. water

Preheat oven to 350F. Press the Pie Crust into the bottom of a parchment lined, 9x9 inch baking pan. Pour the filling on top of the crust. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Check and turn pan after 30 minutes. The Pie Bars are done when the center is soft, but is not runny.Remove from the oven and let cool for several minutes before cutting into bars.Garnish with blackberries.

5 comments:

Oh how I wish I had some of these instead of the boring bowl of oatmeal I just ate!!! I love poring over my mother's collection of recipes too - it contained in 7 boxes of 3 x 5 cards so there is lots to keep me busy!!